As Self Service (SelfServ) sales proliferate and related devices/systems, the retail industry is facing an increasing problem of throughput efficiency and possible legal limitations being levied against certain items purchased at Self-Service Terminals (SSTs). In particular, two areas of transaction concern for retailers include: 1) age verification for certain items sales and 2) the time it takes to complete various tenders such as cash or checks. Both of these situations slow transaction throughput and decrease the Return On Investment (ROI) for the retailer who adopts SelfServ Systems.
The legal implications of purchase age for certain items (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, etc.) vary between countries/states etc., but of import is the fact that the retailer may be fined or penalized for selling to underage individuals or individuals who are not the person said to make the purchase. In addition, local governmental bodies are discussing and moving towards creation of laws that forbid retailers from selling items requiring age verification at SSTs altogether.
Furthermore, tendering increases transaction time, since tenders, such as checks, require operator assistance or in the case of cash, time to enter and dispense bills and coins. Retailers find current implementations to be inefficient as they slow transactions and throughput. Also for age, retailers have trouble ensuring that their employees follow the store procedures in place that are designed for compliance with existing legal restrictions. Another complication arises when a store operator intentionally enters invalid data to allow a purchase to be made by a friend of the operator (often referred to as “sweethearting”).
Therefore, there is a need for improved identity and age verification during a purchase occurring in real time and without the need for store personnel manually verifying the purchaser's identification.